Month: September 2024

Allan called the Indy folks at the Nashville Superspeedway yesterday to find out about the track walk.  They didn’t know anything about it as the track is rented out for the walk but Allan did find out our premium camping does include 4 seats in the stands.

Today’s mission…check out our seats! 

The view is good, you can see the entire track and pit lane. Dilemma! (little known perhaps fact?!  The correct spelling of the word is “dilemma“, not “dilemna”. The misspelling “dilemna” has been used for years, even in books, but it’s not found in any dictionary or grammar book. Do we watch the race from Bailey or the stands.  Guess tomorrow will tell the tale, we’ll try to watch one of the practices from the seats but my money is we’ll watch from Bailey.  

As we’re leaving the seats we see we can go down an extra level to inside track side.  Allan says he thinks we can walk the entire track.  I’m skeptical but I’m in!!

Peek through the wall, this guy didn’t fare well

Here we are on the other side of the track.  Allan is correct, we do make it around the entire track. Here we are on the back stretch

There’s Bailey!  We’re on the wrong side of the gate

Here we are back on the correct side

The day was mostly dreary but little rain, just a few drops here and there.  Now the sun is out, hoping for the same or better weather for Saturday & Sunday.

The last race of the season!

2 drivers can win the championship (not mine as I crashed the last 2 races so Allan gets the 2024 win boo, forgot I’m a good sport ya Allan (inside voice is saying poop, poop, poop)

We get an escort to our site     

  Corner 1, site 6 is us

Here we are

   Just a dude checking out the track

Pointing out where Bailey is on the track 

Pano of the track

So excited to be here BUT I crashed out the last 2 races; Allan has the win so anticlimactic.

Issue:  The weather.  It’s been beautiful 90 degrees, full on sun, until today.  Cloudy & rain. The forecast for the race weekend, not goodThis is an oval meaning the cars do not run on wet tracks.  There are 2 drivers Alex Palou and Will Power who can win the championship.  If they can’t run Alex wins it.

I don’t like either driver but I do love racing.  I’d be so sad if the race can’t run because of weather 

Last time we were here was April 09, 2019, not much has changed except, the bubbles in the hot tub aren’t as bubbly.

The highway truck’s jake brakes are still the same, the birds are still quite tweety – BUT it’s still one of our favourite parks.

Today it’s hop the shuttle and spend the day downtown.  Some sites, kind of a rerun of the April 2019 post

Famous Tootsies 🙂 

Nashville’s biggest and baddest new honky tonk! With five floors, four stages, and six bars.  Kid Rock

                      Elvis says “You will win big!”  I’m not arguing with Elvis!!  Stay tuned!!!

We will forever call this a “Yonge Dundas Square” crossing, no matter what city we are in

We read all the Broadway restaurant’s menus, the winner … Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville

Drinks:    Allan’s, good but needs more Fireball           Mine, delicious!

Dinner

Allan’s  Hot Honey Chicken Sandwich	Mine,  Cajun Seafood Pasta

After dinner another walk up and down Broadway. So many bands in such a small area.  If you like music, even if you are not into country (we aren’t) Nashville is a must. This is taken while walking, there are many such sights.

Finally something about the IndyCar Race.

Nashville AT&T BuildingThe iconic landmark is known locally as the “Batman Building” because its distinctive design resembles the comic book superhero’s mask. In 2009, Le Journal de Net, a French online business publication, named “La Bat Tower” as one of the world’s 12 most original office buildings.

A fire after a great day

Blast from the past!  Our last Nashville visit…

Tuesday, April 09, 2019 Nashville

Good bye Tween the Lakes  (one of my least favourite parks)Hello to one of our favourites, we’ve been here before 🙂Check in and walk around the park time        The shuttle we’ll be taking to downtown

The pool & more importantly the hot tub! 

Although not as hot as the slides when we were kids, this one left me with warm bums

Select sites have “Pet Pens”‘ a private enclosure for your puppy. 

End the day playing King’s Cribbage

Then dinner, then hot tub, our first in way too long, where they had a country singer, then a fire

What’s captured in this photo that I’m not ready for??

Fallen leaves

Exploring Grand Rivers, the town of the dueling soft drinks

This is a cute town with several restaurants and quaint stores

Love this one..  Pink Tractor Clothing

This is the largest cross I’ve ever seen, 198 feet tall x 113 feet wide.  Should have gotten a better photo but notice how small the car looks.  If interested in learning more about the 2nd largest cross in the US click here

Every rest spot we pass Allan says “need a rest”  No to this one, just as we pass it Allan says “should have stopped”.  Issue, something is flapping on the passenger side of Bailey.

Next exit is 7 miles; we can do it!!

We did!

Pull into a Pilot Truck Stop…  What’s this issue.  The base of the awning mounting gizmo, the screw pulled out. Doing the the peek a boo inspection

Allan says “let’s open the awing to I can access the screw” Oh my, what if it doesn’t close.  We’d then have more problems. My outdoor voice says “Yes, lets”

  Awning out! Bad photo

Team work, Allan does the screwing I do the in/out!

Success

Thanks Allan for the easy fix!  Awing back in. We’re good to go!   🙂

Here we are, the last windshield view was way nicer Our site #16

Destination  D and W Lake RV in Champaign; would be less time but we do whatever we can to avoid Chicago!

      The check in office                                     Leading us to our site

Our site #23  The lakeView from our captain seats

There!   Bailey & Bob, across the pondA relaxing spot to sit 

    Fire time!

September 03rd:  Explore Downtown Champaign

Pay for parking app is a little weird, Allan figured it out 

       Draining the hydrant

Leave it to us to find the, perhaps, largest liquor store 🙂  Binny’s 

Fireball 1.75 L Bottle $17.99

It’s that time 

“The legendary Milwaukee Mile on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin is one-mile oval that truly drives more like a road course because of the 9-degree banking in the turns, which produces some of the most exciting racing. Drivers can’t go flat out on the course, which creates overtaking opportunities in the turns as well as the straights. The Mile opened in 1903 and little has changed to the configuration.”

So excited for this Labour Day weekend’s double header, race on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.  There are also several concerts sprinkled throughout the weekend. I won’t add them as Allan did them proud on his FB page.  We are now also following the IndyCar NXT series which is the feeder for IndyCar.

We’ve been here before but it’s been so many years ago it’s like seeing it again for the first time 🙂

Walking to the track (10m walk) we see.. 

Can’t get into on Thursday but tomorrow we’re in.

Tomorrow is here; interesting sounding cocktails

Friday 430-6p:  Practice   

The skies are threatening fortunately the rain held off

Practice Results:    Josef 1; Pato 3       Hurray Josef

More sights     It’s Rosie!

Kyle, I drank this one for you! Dill Lemonade, NA. It was OK, I would have preferred it with sour pickles.  This is a 1 & done.

Who is this celeb?   

Saturday 215-315 Qualifying Results:  Race 1:  Josef 2; Pato 8   Hurray Josef

Saturday 350-505p NXT RACE:  My drive Jacob Abel, Allan’s Caio Collet.  Our bet is winner gets breakfast where ever they choose. 

Results:   Jacob – 2nd;  Caio – 8th.  Super surprisingly Allan chose a green car!! I’m tasting my breakfast win!

Saturday 540-8p NTT Race 1:

They do driver introductions every race.  Rather boring, the drivers walk on stage high 5 Fire Hawk and shake the dignitary’s hands.  Rinus VeeKay, the dude with the green pants, is the exception, he comes on stage does a twirl, high 5 Fire Hawk and shakes hands with the dignitariesSuspect they have been doing this forever but we rarely sit at the start/finish line, the flagman when it’s Go time follows the car with this motion (was fun to watch).  He does it with all flags.

Saturday 540-8p Race 1:  Results: Pato 1: Josef 26     Boo Pato

Why was Josef 26?  His and Marcus Ericsson’s days ended early after a hard crash, that’s Josef on the left. It was Marcus’ fault!   #IndyCar

Sunday 230-530p  Race 2:   Josef 1; Pato 7   Hurray Josef

Pato 24 (mechanical issues) Pato on the radio “You got to be fucking kidding me” when told to get out of the car.   Josef: 27 (out of 27 cars)  Josef on the pole heading for a green flag when at the last moment they aborted the start and stayed yellow.  The driver behind, Marcus Erickson, spotter did not call yellow and guess Marcus didn’t see the still yellow light.  He accelerated and rammed Josef.

Pato the winner 🙁   Fun fact: Pato in Spanish means duck.  Who names their kid after a duck, oh ya, Pato’s parents.  He does look happy.

Allan takes great pleasure, as he should cause it doesn’t happen often,  in moving the in-house cars, boohoo to meOverall standings:  Pato 6th with 419 points; Josef 8th – 365

These are 2 races would love to have do overs for

Guess which one it is today!